Dallas Home Appraisals News and Information

With the meltdown of the bond market, fueled by worries over inflation, interest rates are rising again and threatening to unravel any effects of the government stimulus efforts going forward.  Rates are still historically low, around 5.3% and up to start the week.  However, home values are still low and, in some areas, still sliding, so homeowners are going to start finding it even harder to refinance than before.  First-time buyers also risk getting shut out by higher monthly payments.  For a good explanation of how the bond market is affecting mortgage rates click here.

In other mortgage news, Freddie Mac on Friday announced several changes to its refinance offering under the Making Home Affordable program (shouldn't it be "Making Homes Affordable"?).  Changes include the amount of closing costs that can be rolled into the loan, and allow for homeowners to refinance with any lender approved by Freddie Mac instead of only the lender they are currently with.  Read about the new changes here.